Author Archives: dave cieslewicz

I used to be a more pure environmentalist than I am now. Still, I think Republicans were dead wrong to block purchase of an easement on land that would become the Pelican River State Forest. Here’s what happened. A national nonprofit purchased somewhere between 55,000 and 70,000 acres (reports conflict, but it can be fairlyContinue reading “Odd Way To Celebrate Earth Day”

I’m back as promised (or threatened) after taking a few days off to mark the passing of my mother, who died on Saturday. She was 93 years, eight months and two weeks old. She never had cancer, heart disease or even a hint of dementia. Just the steady accumulation of stuff that goes wrong afterContinue reading “One Less Reader”

After 27 and a half months of writing YSDA we’re going to try something we’ve never attempted before. We’re going to take a break for a few days. We’ll see you back here on Friday.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin announced yesterday, to no one’s surprise, that she’ll seek a third term. She’s likely to get it. So far, no Republican has stepped up to challenge her. By this time in his reelection cycle, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson had four serious challengers vying for the chance to take him on as theContinue reading “Baldwin’s Got the Blue Print”

It’s 10:30 PM and your 17-year old is in his room, messing around (the way Wally and the Beav would mess around) on Instagram. Suddenly the cops burst through the door. They shout at you, “Where’s Josh?! We’re not playing around here, people! Where’s your son?!” You point up the stairs. The SWAT team rushesContinue reading “Drop the iPad, Kid!”

Once again neither political party is speaking to me. I think the Democrats may be taking the wrong message from Janet Protasiewicz’s big win here last week. It’s true that she made it an up-or-down vote on abortion, but it’s also true that she won by almost exactly the same margin as liberal Jill KarofskyContinue reading “Not Abortion, Not Woke”

I like to ply Wisconsin trout streams. I think I should pay my fair share for the privilege. So does Trout Unlimited. The organization’s Wisconsin chapter is lobbying the Legislature to increase the trout stamp from $10 to $15. When you buy a Wisconsin fishing license you have the option of purchasing an inland and/orContinue reading “Midwest: Tax Me For Trout”

Both sides are wrong in the blowup over guns in the Tennessee Legislature, but the Republicans are more wrong. Let’s play a little YSDA tennis, smashing the ball of insanity over the net of reasonable behavior. We start with yet another senseless school shooting, this one in Nashville where six students and administrators were gunnedContinue reading “Madness in Tennessee”

It’s Good Friday and I’m going to church. I belong to the Church of Augusta National. This year it so happens that the Masters coincides with Easter weekend. (Is that what we’re supposed to call it? Easter Weekend? Hurry in for big Easter Savings before prices rise on Sunday morning!) Today I’m missing my friend,Continue reading “The Church of Golf”

Last August Kansas voters rejected a constitutional amendment that would have made abortion illegal there. That proposal went down 41% – 59%. Liberals rejoiced. Then only three months later those same voters elected Kris Kolbach, a hard-right election denier, to be their Attorney General and they returned overwhelming majorities of conservative Republicans to their LegislatureContinue reading “Limits on Abortion”